


SGNL

by elcten881



Category: Signal - TWICE (Music Video), TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Drama, F/F, Pining, Romance, welcomemat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elcten881/pseuds/elcten881
Summary: The SGNL Virus affects only 10% of the worlds population, giving them what scientists can only describe as superpowers. Unfortunately, in order to keep control over these apparent “supermen” governments worldwide have declared them second class citizens. Some are forced into brothels or beg for change on the street. Others, like Myoui Mina, are sold to the highest bidder.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Myoui Mina
Comments: 13
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone cares:
> 
> Level 1 SGNL Virus - Someone who has the gene but no “superhuman abilities” aka "  
> Level 2 SGNL Virus - Someone who has the gene and a passive or weak ability  
> Level 3 SGNL Virus - Someone who has the gene and a defensive ability  
> Level 4 SGNL Virus - Someone who has the gene and a offensive ability  
> Level 5 SGNL Virus - Someone who has their brain affected by the gene and is labelled dangerous

** **Chapter One** **

_“Latest statistics show that there has been a 3% rise in babies born with the mysterious TT Gene, meaning that now 10% of the worlds population are afflicted with the SGNL Virus. For the majority the SGNL Virus lays dormant but in some cases it gives the patient what can only be described as superpowers. After the chaos caused when these powers first became known to the public governments all over the globe announced that anyone who had a Level 2 SNGL Virus or higher were to be classed as a second-class citizen. This was in order to control the seemingly uncontrollable. President Im Sangyeon, who is currently up for re-election, had this to say on the matter…”_

“Turn that shit off.” A gruff voice snapped from the doorway,

There was a soft click as the other man switched off the radio.

The two men occupied the centre of the room, one was sat at the desk as the other paced anxiously around him. Surrounding them were multiple cages, each one with a different figure inside. Some were crying, others were picking their nails just waiting for the inevitable. One cage however, held a young girl huddled in the back corner. She was forcing herself as far from the door as she could, dressed in the tattered remains of her once fine clothes.

Her phone, her ID card, her purse - all had been taken from her when two men (not the same ones in the room with her now) snatched her into their van. They had driven for hours before she was pulled out of the cramped vehicle and placed on a plane with the other caged occupants. The men were speaking Korean, so she could only guess she was in Korea - Daegu if the rumours were true. Having been raised around girls her own age obsessed with KPop she knew enough to get by. Enough to overhear the conversations in the room.

Footsteps alerted her attention to the door opposite the one the pacing man had entered from. When it opened a third man appeared, this man had been walking in and out of the room all day. He would approach the cages and look between them, when his eyes landed on someone they were ripped out and dragged through that mysterious door. Out to where the girl could only assume a large crowd awaited them, ready to bid for the “freaks” presented before them. Three people had already been led away and now he was searching for his next target.

The girl was smart and kept her eyes on the floor in front of her cage, direct eye contact wouldn’t work in her favour. She stared holes into the grey concrete, focusing on the dripping of water somewhere nearby. The rhythmic sound relaxing her, only slightly, enough to stop her from descending into a panic attack. She thought for a moment about looking up, trying to use her gift to release herself but she wouldn’t be able to hypnotise three men at once. Just the one would sap most of her energy.

So instead she just tried to wish herself somewhere else, it wouldn’t work but she just wanted any way to prevent the inevitable. But when two boots stepped into her vision she realised her time was officially up.

“Myoui Mina,”The man read the label on her cage door, "Level 3 - Hypnosis ability. Ooh she’s a rare one! We’ll get a good number on her boys.”

Mina began to tremble as the key slid into the lock on her cage, it opened with a loud shriek but the girl refused to look up.

“Out you come, now.” The man said, “Don’t make it harder, I’d hate to damage the merchandise.”

With the threat hanging in the air Mina finally uncurled herself and stood, head nearly touching the roof of the cage. Her eyes stayed down, not leaving the boots of her captor as she walked slowly out of the cage. Suddenly, two calloused fingers went under her chin - tilting her head up to meet the man’s cold eyes. He looked her up and down, her torn clothes allowing him to see her body with only a bra to cover her modesty.

“She’s pretty too,” He chuckled, “The men will fight each other for the highest bid.”

He stood behind her and put something cold and large around her neck. It was a collar with a heavy chain on it.

The man shoved her forward, “No funny business now.”

Leading her through the door Mina found herself in a hallway, it wasn’t long and any decorations that had once been taped to the wall had long since peeled off stripping chunks of wallpaper with it. There was one flickering light to show her where to go and a red door at the end of the hall, the further they walked the clearer Mina could hear the crowd of people waiting on the other side. Suddenly her legs turned to stone and she froze. Stopping abruptly before she walked through the door, the man slamming into the back of her and snarling in annoyance. He pushed the door open and shoved her through it, luckily she regained her balance before falling onto the wooden stage.

Cat calls, cheers, whistles - a cacophony of annoying sounds filled the air and Mina’s eyes watered from the embarrassment.

Luckily the lights were so bright on the make-shift stage, she couldn’t see anyone apart from those directly in front of the stage. Still, Mina knew they were there and staring at her so she moved her arms to cover her torso. Protecting herself at least a little bit from hungry gazes. The man grunted again and pulled her arms down, the cat calls beginning again. Deciding that it wasn’t enough, to Mina’s horror the remains of her shirt were torn from her and flung away leaving her shirtless on the stage.

Stepping past her the man brought a microphone to his lips, “Now we have item #24031997. Imported all the way from Japan. Mina is a Level 3 SGNL, her symptom is a hypnotic ability which is deemed a defensive gift making her a non-direct threat.”

He looked her over again.

“And look at her folks, isn’t she beautiful!?”

Mummers of agreement from the crowd.

“So lets start the bidding at one million won.”

Voices from the crowd began to shout out numbers and Mina willed herself not to cry, she couldn’t embarrass herself like that.

“1.8 million!”

“1.85!”

“1.9!”

“Any advance on 1.9?” The man yelled, “Anybody?”

Silence. Mina felt tears prick in her eyes.

“Going once,” He began,

A few tears slipped out, landing heavily on the stage.

“Going twice….”

“6 million!” A female voice called out,

Gasps. Whispers. Even Mina looked up in shock.

“6 m-million….any advances on 6 million?” The man regained himself well, “Going once! Going twice! Sold to the lady on the phone in the front.”

Mina watched as a woman walked up the steps to the stage and began heading towards her. She offered a kind smile and took off her coat, sliding it over Mina’s shoulders so that the poor girl could cover herself. The mystery woman handed the envelope of money to the man and in return he took off the collar, releasing her into the custody of this woman. She was then allowed to lead Mina off of the stage. They began walking through the crowd and Mina was tucked closer to the her - away from the hungry stares of the losing bidders.

“Don’t worry about them. Just keep moving.” The woman whispered,

They headed towards the entrance and Mina noticed there was a tall woman waiting for them. She was dressed all in black, arms crossed over her front and hair pulled back in a ponytail. The only colour on her was the large blue cuff she had on her wrist. She didn’t offer Mina a smile, instead she just held the door open for this woman and Mina before leading them out to where a car waited out front. The stoic woman walked ahead and opened the car door, she gave Mina the creeps. Her lack of reaction, the lack of any warmth, it all made her feel unsettled.

She reminded her of marble, beautiful yet cold to the touch.

Once inside the car Mina was joined by the mystery woman in the back while the stoic woman sat next to the driver up front. The hypnotist looked around the car, between the bored looking chauffeur and the expensive looking leather seats she was sat on Mina could see that this woman (or at least her boss) was loaded. The woman sent another kind smile and opened a compartment in the side of the vehicle.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“...”

The woman cocked her head, then repeated the question in Japanese, “You must be starving.”

At the sound of her native language Mina’s head popped up.

The woman giggled, a pair of bunny teeth being exposed as she did so, “My father always said a second language would prove useful.”

Mina couldn’t speak, it was like her voice caught in her throat.

The woman’s smile became sad, “I understand you’ve been through a frightening experience, don’t worry about talk now if you don’t want to. But just know where you’re going, you will be taken care of.”

Mina nodded, shakily - it was all she could manage.

“I’m Nayeon,” The woman, Nayeon, introduced, “Though you may have heard of my father, President Sangyeon.”

It was like ice stabbed her through the chest, Sangyeon’s reputation proceeded him. He hated SGNL carriers and had won the first election by creating the stupid Level system t keep an eye of all those afflicted. For safety apparently.

“I can tell by the sudden terror that you have,” Nayeon clicked her tongue, “Don’t worry, he just sent me out to find a new maid. I read your fact file in the program, I know you’re a first timer so don’t worry - you’ll pick it up quick.”

“...”

“Two of our other servants are Japanese too, they’ll show you around.” Nayeon smiled, “And you don’ have to worry about my father, he’s not home often.”

Mina clutched the coat tightly around herself. It was thick, she felt it would protect her from whatever was about to come.

“Anyway, why don’t we just make the best of a bad situation?”

Mina’s eyes met hers, “I-I speak Korean.”

“Oh!” Nayeon chirped, slamming the compartment shut and turning to smack on the tinted glass separating them from the duo in front, the driver kept his eyes on the road but the statue turned to look at Nayeon expectantly, “Tzuyu-ah, tell Mina how great it is working for me!”

Mina made the mistake of meeting Tzuyu’s eyes. They were staring at her intently, as if analysing every inch of her face. For a moment she couldn’t look away, like being face to face with a wolf - don’t take your eyes off it for a moment or it will eat you whole.

“There are worse ways to live.”

Her voice was soft and smooth, no real emotion in it. She pronounced her words slowly as though thinking each one through one by one.

Nayeon rolled her eyes, “Try to sound excited. Miss Sunshine up front is Tzuyu, she mostly does handyman slash heavy lifting jobs. Occasionally she’ll double up as security, so you’re nice and safe with TzuTzu around!”

Tzuyu turned back round and Mina felt a small smile at Nayeon’s whine.

Nayeon caught it and revealed her bunny teeth again, “She loves me really.”

Mina looked at the other woman up front, she wondered if Tzuyu was like her. What her symptom was. Or at least she began to wonder, then Tzuyu began taking her turtle neck off and all Mina’s thoughts turned to mush. She blushed and looked away, the stoic woman appeared to be wearing a tank top underneath but at the sight of skin Mina panicked. If Nayeon noticed she didn’t say anything and suddenly the turtle neck landed in Mina’s lap.

“Tzuyu?” Nayeon asked, a little confused,

Tzuyu shrugged, “She’s got nothing else.”

Mina touched the fabric gently, it was warm. She looked at Nayeon nervously and the elder girl understood and looked away. She began rummaging through her handbag as a distraction while Mina pulled the shirt on. Once she was redressed she handed the coat back to Nayeon. The woman took it and then quick as lightning clasped something cold around her wrist. She recoiled sharply, shocked. It appeared to be some sort of large metallic bracelet with a blue light going round it.

She remembered Tzuyu wearing one just like it.

“Sorry,” Nayeon sighed, “It’s a precaution. I made it myself, it means you can’t use your symptoms. It’s still a prototype but all our staff need to wear one. Just in case.”

Mina looked at her encased wrist and then up at Nayeon. She focused, testing whether or not this thing really worked…only for a sharp bolt of electricity to run up her arm making her yelp.

Nayeon looked sad but said nothing.

For the rest of the journey she stared out the window, the bracelet on her wrist a shackle reminding her that she was not a free woman any more.

She didn’t know what was coming as they passed the busy streets of Korea. Nor could she have known what was coming in the coming months.

But for now Nayeon was right….

Why not just make the best of a bad situation?


	2. Chapter 2

** **Chapter 2** **

** **

The house they pulled up outside was beautiful.

It was a mansion, gleaming white with ivy wrapping round marble pillars out front. It vaguely reminded Mina of the fine houses in the neighbourhood where she grew up. Something about that thought caused her gut to twist as homesickness made itself known. Mina had no idea if she’d ever see Japan again, if she’d ever see her family again. Blinking and looking to the top of the limousine she kept the tears at bay, she couldn’t cry in front of her captors.

A hand rested on her knee and she looked up to Nayeon’s warm eyes, “It’s okay, you’ll adjust.”

It probably wasn’t as comforting as Nayeon intended it to be but it managed to calm her a little. The driver and Tzuyu both exited first, the former walked round and opened the back door for them. Nayeon got out and stopped to wait for Mina, linking her arm around the younger girl’s limp one. Tzuyu opened the front door for them and Nayeon thanked her as they passed. Mina was unable to look at the tall woman, a blush on her face at the reminder that she was wearing Tzuyu’s shirt.

The house was more lavish inside, with a grand staircase in the centre leading in the centre of what Mina could only describe as a lobby. It looked like a hotel, not a home. Everything was cleaned to such a pristine condition, the whole house didn’t look lived in. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor (honestly Mina had never seen so much marble in her life), the sound echoing.

“Home sweet home!” Nayeon chirped,

Immediately Tzuyu walked past them and went off to another room behind the staircase. Nayeon hung up her coat and kicked off her shoes. Mina’s own feet were cold on the floor, having had her shoes taken from her so she couldn’t run. Footsteps from the second floor distracted her from her thoughts and she looked up to a head popping over the bannister.

“Jihyo!” Nayeon called, her voice loud as it echoed, “Come and meet out new maid.”

This other girl, Jihyo, walked down the stairs with a bright smile on her face. At first Mina didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, however when she got closer Mina noticed it. Jihyo had one brown eye, it was warm and comforting like Nayeon’s, while the other was bright green.

“This is Mina, she’s all the way from Japan. Mina this is my sister Jihyo.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Jihyo greeted,

Before Mina could respond she was shocked by Jihyo’s green eye moved independently, literally scanning her up and down. When both Jihyo’s eyes snapped to meet Mina’s she suddenly looked sheepish.

“Sorry,” Jihyo chuckled awkwardly, “I can’t always stop that.”

“I-It’s fine…I’m just surprised that one of President Im’s daughters is a SGNL.” Mina replied quietly,

Nayeon interrupted with a cough, “Jihyo isn’t SGNL.”

“Oh…”

“It’s fine,” Jihyo’s smile was back, she hadn’t been offended, “I lost vision in my eye when I was a kid and Nayeon, ever the brilliant inventor, made me one.”

“With a couple extra features added by yours truly!” Nayeon smirked, “Too much money, too much free time!”

Mina just sent a shy smile, not trusting herself to speak.

“So this is the main house, you’ll be cleaning the second floor but Sana will go through all that with you. On your off time you may do whatever you like as long as you stay on our grounds.” Nayeon began, leading them in the direction Tzuyu had gone, “This is the kitchen, you can come in here any time you want with free range of the utilities and food.”

“Just check with Jeongyeon, the chef, before you take anything.” Jihyo added, “She can be…terrifying at times.”

Not giving her much time to look around they led her to the back door. They went through and out to the largest back yard Mina had ever been in. It was almost like rolling fields. Horse stables and pens, a large lake, tennis courts, swimming pool, three dogs playing as they ran around the field - all enclosed by a ring of tree’s for maximum privacy. At the far end was what appeared to be a regular sized house, Mina could only assume that was where they were taking her.

“You have access to all our facilities providing you only use them during your off hours,” Nayeon told her as they walked to the house, “Off hours are from 5pm until 10am and you can choose one day during the week to be your day off.”

“You can talk to the other girls and see when would be best for you to be off.” Jihyo told her, “The off hours are the same for all of you except Tzuyu and Jeongyeon providing no immediate emergencies.”

“Why those two?” Mina found herself asking,

“Jeongyeon gets two days off a week but is on from 8am until 7pm due to meal times. Tzuyu is also night security when our regular guard has the night off. Plus we could need her at any point so our father wont let her take a day off.”

“Your father knows we’re here?” Mina asked confused,

“Of course,” Nayeon’s smile died, “Can’t campaign to make SGNL’s slaves without having any yourself.”

“Besides,” Jihyo added, “It’s not like he’s ever home so we can be as lenient as we like.”

The trio remained quiet the rest of the way to the servants’ house. Nayeon knocked on the wood door when they arrived, Mina couldn’t see why since there didn’t appear to be a lock. She put it down to a respect thing. The door opened revealing a girl with short black hair, she somewhat resembled a raccoon and she smiled gently at the trio. In her hand there was a bag of crisps.

“Hey Momo!” Nayeon greeted, fondly, “Could you go and get Sana for me?”

“Sure thing,” She said, her eyes landing on Mina, “Is this the newbie?”

“M-Mina.” Was all she could manage as an introduction,

Momo nodded and popped another crisp into her mouth, “Mo-*crunch*-mo.”

“Momo is the errands girl,” Jihyo explained, “She goes into town for us. The only one fast enough to do the trip multiple times a day without a car.”

“Wait…without a car?”

Momo smirked, crumpling up her crisp packet, “Watch.”

Suddenly, there was a blur an Momo was gone. Nayeon let out a laugh at Mina’s stunned expression, after a moment Momo blurred back with a completely new bag of crisps in her hand.

“Sana’s on her way down.” Momo said, “She was asleep.”

“It’s 6pm…” Jihyo muttered,

Momo blushed, “Well we were busy.”

Nayeon cackled, “Momo has super speed.”

Mina noted the bracelet around Momo’s wrist was the same as Mina’s, only it wasn’t lit up by the blue light.

“All bracelets can be switched off for an hour at a time and only by me.” Nayeon told her when she noticed the confusion, “But in the house they’re switched off and on by that sensor - see.”

Mina looked at her own which was still on.

“You have to earn that ability I’m afraid,” Nayeon frowned, “Just once we know you’re not going to kill us in our sleep - never know! You’re a level 3 ability right?”

Mina nodded.

“Cool, me too!” Momo smiled,

Mina found herself smiling back, she’d never met someone like herself before.

“Hi!” Another voice sounded,

Mina looked behind Momo and saw another woman walking towards them in a dressing gown.

“I’m Sana, you must be the new maid!” Sana smiled, almost as though she couldn’t stop if she tried it was just so natural, “We can take it from here.”

Nayeon placed a gentle hand on Mina’s back and guided her inside, remaining in the doorway with her sister.

“Right, well.” Nayeon began, “Go wash up, I’m sure someone will lend you some clothes for tonight and tomorrow. Then you can tell Momo what you’d like and she can get it from town when she goes. Both Sana and Momo speak Japanese so you can go to them for any help.”

Mina looked back at them, suddenly nervous again. Jihyo looked as though she was about to say something comforting only her green eye zoned in on whatever was behind Mina and the other followed suit.

“Tzuyu-ah!”

Mina turned to see the tall girl approach still wearing that stupid tank top. Her gaze was hard until she saw Jihyo, then it softened a little - still impassive but warmer.

“Would you be able to bring us in some firewood? We’re running low. You can do it tomorrow but thought I’d tell you whilst you were here.”

“Okay, unnie.”

Nayeon clapped, “Right then! Mina we’ll be in the house if you need anything important, otherwise Sana will show you the ropes.”

Mina swallowed and looked back to the girls in front of her. The duo left them and suddenly Mina felt sick again. Sana kept smiling at her, cuddling up to Momo who was distracted by her crisps while Tzuyu just stood behind them. Mina locked eyes with her and once again found herself unable to break the stare. There was something endearing about it and she didn’t know what it was or if it was dangerous. It scared her a little.

“Right!” Sana chirped, grabbing Mina’s arm and pulling her inside, “I’ll show you to your room and then you can clean up.”

Mina just nodded, faltering slightly as Sana’s suddenly pull nearly sent her crashing into Tzuyu. When she looked up she noticed how tall the other woman was. Not wanting to get trapped in yet another staring contest Mina spoke up.

“Th-Thank you for the shirt.”

“Shirt?” Sana asked,

“T-They ripped mine off,” Mina looked down, shaking a little from the memory, “Tzuyu gave me hers.”

“Aww look at Tzuyu,” Momo leaned forward and pinched said girl’s cheek causing her to recoil, “Playing well with others.”

Tzuyu rolled her eyes and gently pushed past Mina, grabbing an axe that was propped up next to the door as she went. Mina really hoped it was for firewood.

“She’s a sweetheart really,” Sana chuckled, slipping into Japanese, “Come on!”

She lead Mina to the staircase, “There are two rooms downstairs; the living room and Chaeyoung and Dahyun’s room. They’re a little chaotic but you’ll like them. Chaeyoung is in charge of the horses and Dahyun is another maid - you’ll meet everyone later.”

Mina said nothing, content to listen and fight off the waves of homesickness. Hearing her native language had made her long to be home more than ever. They walked up the stairs to the first floor.

“Up here are three more rooms,” Sana continued, “Momo’s moving into my room so you’ll have her old room and then Jeongyeon’s is at the end of the hallway next to the bathroom. She’s like our den mother, stay on her good side.”

Mental note made.

“And TzuTzu sleeps in the attic!” Sana beamed stopping in front of a door, “This is you. I left you a towel and some toiletries so you can go wash up.” Her smile faded, “When I got here for the first time showering made me feel human again.”

Momo squeezed her shoulder, “What Sana means is, we know how I feels so…you can talk to us if you need to.”

“Thanks.”

Sana blinked and her smile came back, “So! We’ll leave you! Today’s our day off so when your ready come down and you can tell Momo what you need from town.”

Mina returned the smile. Feeling somewhat at ease that Sana and Momo knew what it was like. They left her and returned down to the living room while she herself went into her own. Her room didn’t feel like hers, it just felt like a room. No decorations, no items, no luxuries. Just a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. That was all Mina had now, this was her life.

True to her word, Sana had left a folded towel and a bag of toiletries on the plain bed. Toothbrush, toothpaste and some body wash with a little note saying she could use Chaeyoung’s shampoo (the strawberry one) for today. Mina collected these items and went to the bathroom, it was extremely clean. The same level of clean as the main house, except here it had a different vibe. It felt like a home, it felt lived in.

After about ten minutes of trying to figure out how the shower worked, Mina removed her clothes and got in. She made a point of folding Tzuyu’s shirt nicely, she thought it would be respectful. Once she was under the warm water she stood still, just letting it run over her. Her body finally began to relax, the water soothed her muscles and began stripping away the dirt from the cage.

As her body sagged it was like her whole body gave way. Tears finally began to roll down her cheeks as she finally broke down. All the stress and fear finally making themselves known now that she was alone. Mina had kept herself composed all day, refusing to show weakness in front of anybody. But now there was no one to hear her, she could finally let it all go.

Unaware of someone approaching the door holding some spare pyjamas. Sana paused, listening to the sobs and her heart broke. She remembered the pain, the fear on the first night. But eventually Mina will learn that she was safe here, as they all did. Deciding not to disturb her she just walked back to Mina’s new room and put the clothes inside.

Sana decided to go find Jeongyeon, it looks like the new girl could use a proper meal.


End file.
